Permutation lock



March 5, 1935. M. ZUILI 993,252

PE RMUTAT I ON LOCK Original Filed Jan. 25, 1931 Q 99 6 Q Q Afro/awn use of a key and with secrecy, the stationary part Patented Mar. 5, 1935 new 1,993,252 PERMUTATIONY LooK Maurice Zuili, Paris, France" Ap lication January 2 3, v Renewed January 23, 1935.

ruary 20, 1930 1931, Serial No. 510,822 r In France ,Feb-

5 Claims. (01. -54; if

Thisinvention has reference topermutation locks and has for its primary object to-provide a permutation lock suitable for use in looking together stationary and movable parts without the being for example a frame or panel in a structure, part of a portable article, or a partof clothing or the like, as for example a door frame, the body of a trunk, the side of a portfolio, hand-bag,

, money-bag, .or suit-case, a file or cheque book or the like, while the movable part is the corresponding member or panel such as a door, the lid of a trunk, the flap of a portfolio, the, flap of a hand-bag, money bag or suit-case, the'cover for a cheque book or the like.

Afurther object of the invention is to provide a permutation lock wherein a secure locking of the stationary and movable parts of the article to'be locked is performed .by bolts concealed in a case and inaccessible when the lock is in closed position.

A still further object'o'f the invention is to pr0- vide a permutation lock wherein the motion of the bolts to or from active or locking positionsis controlled by rectilinearly displacing equally sized buttons aligned ina row and carried by the outer wall of the lock case, theconstruction of said lock being such that it can only be opened if exclusively the buttons preselected to form the key of the lock combination have been disaligned, so that picking of the lock is impossible.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a permutation lock entirely made up of parts capable ,of being readily stampedout of sheet metal, this facilitating and cheapening the cost of manufacturing this look.

-With these and such other objects in view as will incidentally appear hereafter, the invention comprises'the novel construction and arrangement of parts that will now be described with reference to the drawing forming a part of the present disclosure.

Other original features of the lock will be disclosed in the course of the following particular description.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure l is a vertical sectionpartly broken away of a convenient embodiment of the lock' mounted upon a stationary member and a movable member such for example as the sideand flap or cover of a portfolio or bag.

Figure 2 is a fragmentary side elevation of the internal element with a part broken away, said element being substantially U-shaped.

Figure 3 is a plan of the external element. Figure 4 is a cross-section on the line IVIV of Figure 3 showing the U'-shaped internal element and the interior details.

'Figurefiis aplan of the internal element.shoW-- ing it inposition on thebase-platex Figure 6-is a plan of the cover-plate carrying the catches and fixed on the stationary membero. Figure? is a section on the line VII--VII of Figure; 6 showing the relation between .thebase plate, the cover-plate carrying the catches and,

the stationary member.

Figure 8 is a view corresponding to Figure 1 but showing the lock piyotally mounted in a cheque book, the operating buttons being here protected by a hood toprevent any risk of fraud. g

Figure 9 is a section of a padlock in which the locking is effected by the engagement ofbolts in keeper-holes formed-in an internal socket ele-' ment, the caseof the :padlock forming the external element and carrying the operating buttons, not shown. I i

Figure 10 is a view similartoFigureA but as- Reference being first had to Figures '1 to 7, 1 is the external or socket element, which is in the form of' a rectangular socket of elongated shape. This socket 11 is secured to the movable member A for example'by bolts 2 passing through a peripheral flange 1 and also through said movable member A and through a base plate 11, as will be described hereafter. Y

The base of the socket 1 is formed with a number of parallel-equally-sized openings ,1? in which are mounted transversely slidable aligned buttons 3 projecting above the base and provided with closure plates 3 which always -cover said'open ings; The stem of each button carries a frictional collar 3 and is formed with a transverse hole 3 In the holes 3 of the button stems '3?- are mounted pegs 4 of uniform length which form the. bolts of the lock. Each of these bolts, of which the position can be varied in its hole 3 to change the secret of the lock, is secured in posi.-' tion'by a screw 5 screwed into a tapped axial bore in thestem 3 of the button 3.

Fitting into the external or female socket-like element 1 is an elongated'internal or male element 6 which is here shown of socket shape and isof slightly less length and width. This internal socket 6 has on each of; its longitudinal sidesat the level'of its open end a flange 6?.which rests againstthebase .of the external socket 1.. One end of the socket 6 is provided with a pushbutton 7 adapted to fit into a correspondinglhole in the end of the socket 1. Against the other end of the socket 6 thereis pressed a spring 8 abutting. against the innerface of the socket 1; The base of the internal-socket 6 is formed with two keyhole slots 6 having a circular'part and a'reduced On the stationary member B is fixed a coverplate 9 anchored by claws 9 and carrying two stud-catches 10 separated by a distance equal to the distance between the geometric centres of the key-hole slots 6 and each having an en larged head l0 terminating in ap oint.

Between the cover-plate 9 carrying the studcatches l0 and the base of the internal socket 6 is interposed a base-plate 11 formed with two round 'holes- 11 coinciding with the round parts of the key-hole slots 6". This base-plate 11 is arranged to be removably fixed over the base of the internal socket 6 in such a way as to hold. it Within the external socket 1. The base-plate 11 which is of rectangular shape is held in removable contact with the adjacent face of the movable member A of the article to be locked by nuts 2 screwed upon the ends of the bolts 2.

The construction of the lock shown in Figure 8 corresponds on general lines to that shown in Figure 1. The only difference lies in the fact that the external socket element is protected by a hood 12 formed with openings through which the buttons 3 project and which effectively prevents anyone from seeing traces of the rubbing of the plates 3 of the key-buttons against the outer face of the socket l and so discovering the secret. This hood has a base part 12 which is riveted or similarly secured to the flange 1 of the external socket 1. The stud-catches 10 are here made longer to pass through the pad C of a cheque book for example, this pad taking the 7 place of the stationary member and being enclosed in a channel section cover 9 carrying the studcatches 10 and connected by a hinge 13 to the hood 12. There is here no movable member strictly speaking, since all the mechanism enclosed within the hood 12 is designed to pivot about the hinge 13 on thestationary part C formed by the pad or file of cheques or other documents. The lock thus operates like a hasp lock.

The operation buttons are aligned in the position shown clearly in Figure 3, the active bolts that is to say those of the bolts 4 which form the key or clue of the secret or combination i. e. in this case the third and fourth bolts from the left are engaged in the corresponding keeper-holes 6 by reason of their projection relative to the other bolts 4. The internal socket 6 is thus held against longitudinal movement in the external socket 1 and its position retains the heads 10" of the stud-' catches '10 in the narrow ends of the key-hole slots 6 To open the lock, the person knowing the secret simply presses the tWo corresponding buttons 3 in a direction opposite to that in which their bolts 4 protrude into their keeper holes. When this is done, the two bolts are disengaged from their keeper-holes. The spring 8 then presses the socket 6 along so that the heads 10 of the stud-catches 10 come into the enlarged ends of the key-hole, slots; and the movable member A can be separated from the stationary member B. The operation can be performed instantly. 1

To re-close the lock, the operations are carried out in the reverse order, the press-button 7 being used to compress thespring 8 to anjextent suifi-j is as follows: When all the cient to bring the bolts 4 into alignment with the keeper-holes 6.

It will be obvious that when the. lock-is closed, any movement of a button 3 carrying a dead bolt causes the latter to enter into the corresponding keeper-hole 6 in the adjacent side and to complicate the lock further because the subsequent operation of the active bolts by the corresponding buttons can not open the lock. The combination is thus practically inviolable if the number of buttons is such as to prevent unauthorized opening by arithmetical calculation. If required, several similar locks might be combined to still further enhance the safety.

To change the combination, the internal ele ment 6 is disengaged from the external element 1 after having removed the base-plate 11 and by slackening ofi the screws 5 the active bolts can be readily changed, the operation being extremely rapid. 1

This combination lock has thus three advantages rarely found together: inviolability, instantaneous operation, and possibility of changing the combination in an extremely short time. This is very valuable for example in the case of a portfolio, a money-bag, a cheque book, a brief file or the like.

The invention isequally applicable to padlocks such as that illustrated in Figure 9. The external element 1 carrying the operating buttons (not shown) ishere formed by the casing of the padlock itself. The internal element 6 is formed by the same'structure as in Figure 1 but it is held between two slides 14 fixed on the inner walls of the casing against which abuts the compression spring 8. The press-button 7 in this,

caseis extended in a semi-circle to form the hasp of the padlock.

Reference being now had to Figure 10, it will be seen that this constructional modification utilines a T-shaped internal element 6 fitted in inverted relation within the external socket-like element 1. Each button 3 has two parallel stems 3* each formed with a transverse hole 3 in which a peg-like bolt 4' is fixed bya screw 5 as in the construction shown in Figure 1. The central web of the internal T-shaped element 6 is formed with a row of holes corresponding to the dupli- "cated bolts 4 and the base of said T-shaped element is formed on each side of its web with two pairs of key-hole slots through which can engage the heads 10 of two pairs of companion studcatches 10. The operation is substantially the same as in the first embodiment.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the embodiments which have been described above but includes mechanical equivalents embodying the same principles.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

. 1. A multi-purpose permutation lock comprising, in combination, a case'formed in one of its walls with a series of parallel equally-sized and aligned slots, a set of equally-sized buttons mounted displaceably in the respective slots, said buttons projecting out of the case, bolts adjustably carried by the buttons within the case, a keeper element enclosed in the case and sized so as to be movable at right angles to the displacement of the buttons, the case and keeper element forming ccacting parts of a unit adapted to receive and interengage with an article to be locked, said keeper element having apertures at right angles to the direction of its movability, said apertures being spaced to an extent equal to the spacing of the bolts, means holding the keeper element engaged in the case, and spring means intermediate the keeper element and case for disaligning said apertures and said bolts as soon as all apertures are free from their bolts, the adjustability of the bolts permitting to cause certain bolts to engage the respective apertures when the corresponding buttons are aligned with respect to the remaining buttons, whereby the alignment of all buttons presupposes the engagement of those bolts selected to form the key of the lock combination into their apertures while disalignment of the buttons causes unlocking of the keeper element only if merely the buttons carrying the last-named bolts have been shifted oif alignment.

2. A multi-purpose permutation lock comprising, in combination, a case formed in one of its walls with a series of parallel equally-sized and aligned slots, a set of equally-sized buttons mounted displaceably in the respective slots, said buttons projecting out of the case, bolts adjustably carried by the buttons within the case, a keeper element enclosed in the case and sized so as to be movable at right angles to the displacement of the buttons, said keeper element being slotted and formed with apertures at right angles to the direction of its movability, said apertures being spaced to an extent equal to the spacing of he bolts, a removable base-plate holding the keeper element engaged in the case and having openings coinciding with the keeper element slots, a cover-plate carrying stud-catches corresponding in position to the last-named slots and openings, and spring means intermediate the keeper element and case for moving said element and disaligning the apertures from the bolts as soon as all apertures are free from their bolts, the adjustability of the bolts permitting to cause certain bolts to engage the respective apertures when the corresponding buttons are aligned with respect to the remaining buttons, whereby the alignment of all buttons presupposes the engagement of those bolts selected to form the key of the lock combination into their apertures while disalignment of the buttons causes unlocking of the keeper element only if merely the buttons carrying the last-named bolts have been shifted off alignment.

3. A multi-purpose permutation lock comprising, in combination, a case formed in one of its walls with a series of parallel equally-sized and aligned slots, a set of equally-sized buttons mounted displaceably in the respective slots, said buttons projecting out of the case, bolts adjustably carried by the buttons within the case, a keeper element enclosed in the case and sized so as to be movable at right angles to the displacement of the buttons, said keeper element being made of a U-shaped angle bar having spaced keyhole slots in its base and pairs of spaced aligned apertures in its legs, said apertures being spaced to an extent equal to the spacing of the bolts, a removable base-plate holding the keeper element engaged in the case and having openings coinciding with said keyhole slots, a cover-plate carrying stud-catches corresponding in position to said keyhole slots and openings, and spring means intermediate the keeper element and case for moving said element and disaligning the apertures from the bolts as soon as all apertures are free from their bolts, the adjustability of the bolts permitting to cause certain bolts to engage the respective apertures when the corresponding buttons are aligned with respect to the remaining buttons, whereby the alignment of all buttons presupposes the engagement of those bolts selected to form the key of the lock combination into their apertures while disalignment of the buttons causes unlocking of the keeper element only it merely the buttons carrying the last-named bolts have been shifted off alignment.

4. A permutation lock comprising a case, a series of spaced manually operable elements car'- ried by the case and selectively movable in spaced parallel slots formed in the case, bolts carried by and adjustable with respect to said elements within the case, a keeper movable in the case in a direction at right angles to the movement of the elements, apertures formed in the keeper and spaced in correspondence with the spacing of the bolts carried by the elements, means for holding the keeper against other than sliding movement with respect to the case, spring means for moving'the keeper in one direction to disalign the apertures therein with the bolts of the elements, and means for moving the keeper to align the apertures therein with the bolts of the elements, said keeper being formed to interlock with a cooperating lock element when in position to align its apertures with the bolts of the elements, the adjustable mounting of the bolts of the elements providing for certain of the bolts to engage the keeper apertures when the elements are aligned longitudinally of the case, the remaining bolts of the elements being free of the apertures in the keeper under such aligned relation of the elements whereby under non-alignment of the selected elements the keeper is released and under non-alignment of any of the non-selected elements the keeper is locked.

5. A permutation lock comprising a case, a plurality of manually operable slidable elements cooperating with aligned slots in the case, bolts adjustably supported by the elements within the case, a keeper held against other than sliding movement in the case and formed with a plurality of apertures spaced in correspondence with the spacing of the bolts carried by the elements, spring means for moving the keeper in one direction relative to the case to move the apertures in the keeper out of alignment with the bolts of the elements, a cooperating lock element held by the keeper when the latter is in position to align the apertures therein with the bolts of the elements, said cooperating element being freed from the keeper when the keeper has been moved under the influence of its spring, the adjustability of the bolts with respect to the manually operable elements permitting the bolts of selected elements to be arranged to engage the apertures in the keeper when said elements are aligned longitudinally of the case, the bolts of the remaining elements being normally free of the keeper when the elements are aligned but operative to engage the keeper apertures when the elements are disaligned, whereby on disalignment of the selected elements the keeper is released, while on disalignment of any non-selected element the keeper is locked.

MAURICE ZUILI. 

